[MUD-Dev] MUD universe

[Felix A. Croes]

clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:
>[...]
> Not quite.  You can also have quests created by systems, which create
> a desired state where the purpose of the quest is to restore a state. 
> The key is to make the incidental specifics of the state indeterminate
> (who kidnapped, where held, why, what obstacles need to be overcome,
> etc), and only have the defining points predictable (ie princess is
> missing, get her back).
>
> The kidnapped princess scenario as discussed here a few months ago was
> a good case in point.  There any of a dozen different compeating,
> cross-affecting and unpredictable systems could result in the princess
> being kidnapped.  The same systmes continued after the kidnap to
> shuffle the princess about and change her
> what-needs-to-be-done-to-recover state frequently and unpredictably. 
> The princess could wander away from her kidnappers, get lostm be lost,
> be multiply kidnapped (from other kidnappers), never get kidnapped in
> the first place but just be wandering, etc.  

Apologies if I am repeating obvious conclusions: the system would have
to be <very> dynamic to avoid visible repetitiveness to a player.  If
the princess is first kidnapped by red-headed orcs, and in the next
quest the prince is kidnapped by blue-elbowed trolls, it won't take
users long to discern a pattern, even if the individual components
do not reappear.

I have the same problem with automatically generated room
descriptions: they tend to look so...  automatically generated.


>[...]
> I'd also reference Vernor Vinge's "Fire Upon The Deep", where the
> actual physical nature of reality and the physical laws which form the
> physical universe, vary depending on where you are in the universe (eg
> FTL possible/not possible, anti-gravity possible/not possible, etc
> with an interesting twist that often while the structure of the
> universe may allow say anti-gravity materials to work, they can't be
> manufactured there).  An excellant book FWIW.

Typing this on my dual CPU machine called Tyrathect.

Felix Croes